Nothing I ever worked on would have worked in the real world Obstacles, barriers, impossibilities

1 guy learning ruby you NEED 2p commit, thread safety, sales people with sirloins and lap dances game over, php + java already won (make the best of it) What the hell kind of name is &#x201C;Ruby on Rails&#x201D; anyway?

Multi-million dollar business from a 3p team working spare time Should have died long ago but just celebrated its 5 yr birthday

Because that's how the real world works. It's full of big scary paper dragons that you supposedly just can't fight. Might as well just give up in advance and don't try anything.

Some big bully should have swept in and grabbed our candy Google, Microsoft, others coexist

No big functional specs, road maps, business plans, or long-term projections \"where we were going to be in 5 years\" Most people don't know what the hell they're doing most of the time anyway, plans don&#x2019;t change that

To features, to customer segments, even to some customers If he wants bananas in his lasagna, you're a foolish, arrogant prick of a chef

100K readers now, think we got there because people just couldn't resist my deliciously swirly hair? 2K readers in &#x2019;04 (5!! years after launching the blog)

Everyone is dummy and only the blessed few can actually do anything. Bullshit. rockstar environment = trust, freedom, little work that nobody wants to do The real world thinks that everyone is a liar, a thief, and a crook Acquisitions turns rock stars into roadies

CHOOSE to make our stuff simple, PM + CRM often very complex Every domain has a simple angle. It's your job to find it and exploit Only so many air traffic control systems or missile trajectory calculators

So the next time someone shoots down your idea with \"that's great, but it wouldn't work in the real work\", it's your moral duty to prove them the hell wrong!

\"Doing a startup\" is such a cop out, it&#x2019;s a game, cops and robbers Distracts you from the simplicity of: price * customers = profit Has become a toxic word in my mind, like web 2.0 and enterprise

Such liberating constraints: Income, expenses, customers (not users)

Micro-volunteering, crowd-sourcing, social-media cross between Flickr and Facebook for puppies

Don&#x2019;t expect to fail, don&#x2019;t set out to be a serial entrepeneur Think about &#x201C;what&#x2019;s your life&#x2019;s work&#x201D; Get rich slowly (most investments bear fruit from compound interest, not spikes)

Transcript

1.
Doing a Startup
in The Real World
David Heinemeier Hansson
37signals
Thursday, March 26, 2009